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Anesthesiologist and critical care education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an anesthesiologist and critical care. Anesthesiologists and critical care usually study medicine, nursing, or physician assistant. 27% of anesthesiologists and critical care hold a doctoral degree, and 18% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 25 real anesthesiologist and critical care resumes to see exactly what anesthesiologist and critical care education sections show.

The most common colleges for anesthesiologists and critical care are the Otterbein University and the Otterbein University.

There are also many online anesthesiologist and critical care courses to help get the education required to be an anesthesiologist and critical care.

What education do you need to become an anesthesiologist and critical care?

What degree do you need to be an anesthesiologist and critical care?

The most common degree for anesthesiologists and critical care is doctoral degree, with 27% of anesthesiologists and critical care earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 18% and associate degree degree at 18%.
  • Doctorate, 27%
  • Associate, 18%
  • Bachelor's, 18%
  • Diploma, 14%
  • Other Degrees, 23%

What should I major in to become an anesthesiologist and critical care?

You should major in medicine to become an anesthesiologist and critical care. 27% of anesthesiologists and critical care major in medicine. Other common majors for an anesthesiologist and critical care include nursing and physician assistant.

Most common colleges for anesthesiologists and critical care

Anesthesiologists and critical care often get their degrees at Otterbein University, South College, and New York University. Here are the most common colleges for anesthesiologists and critical care in the US based on their resumes.
Anesthesiologist and critical care common collegePercentages
Otterbein University11.11%
South College11.11%
New York University11.11%
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville11.11%
Ohio University11.11%

Best majors for anesthesiologists and critical care

RankMajorPercentages
1Medicine27.3%
2Nursing22.7%
3Physician Assistant4.5%
4Business4.5%
5Dental Assisting4.5%

Best colleges for anesthesiologists and critical care

The best colleges for anesthesiologists and critical care are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

An anesthesiologist and critical care with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for anesthesiologists and critical care. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become anesthesiologists and critical care.

1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

5. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

6. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

7. SUNY at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$10,099

Enrollment

21,404

8. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

9. Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$14,460

Enrollment

39,208

10. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

20 best online courses for anesthesiologists and critical care

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1. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

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2. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

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Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...

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Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...

4. Trauma Emergencies and Care

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Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

5. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care

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In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...

6. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

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7. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children

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Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...

8. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation

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In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...

9. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities

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A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...

10. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course

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The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...

11. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale

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Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...

12. The Critical Role of IT Support Staff in Healthcare

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This is a very exciting time to be exploring a career in Health IT Support! In this introductory course, you’ll learn about various roles in IT support that are common in healthcare. IT support staff play critical roles in many different healthcare venues. In addition to helping clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms, you may end up providing support in a skilled nursing facility, ambulatory surgical center, virtual care setting, or even a patient’s home! On any given day, you may interact...

13. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations

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Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...

14. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff

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Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...

15. Health for All Through Primary Health Care

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This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...

16. Thinking About Care

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Although all humans require care to develop and thrive, it is rarely the focus of academic studies. This course enriches learner’s understanding of this critical yet underappreciated facet of their lives by addressing such questions as: What is care? Who has traditionally provided it? How valued is care work? Does money take the care out of care work? In addition to advancing learner’s knowledge of the place of care in modern society and controversies surrounding it, Thinking About Care will...

17. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness

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18. Kids with Cancer Still Need School: The Providers Role

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19. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers

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Top 10 most affordable universities for anesthesiologists and critical care

The most affordable schools for anesthesiologists and critical care are University of Florida, california state university - long beach, and baruch college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for anesthesiologists and critical care are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for anesthesiologists and critical care.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

3. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

4. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

5. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

6. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

7. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

8. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

9. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

10. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for anesthesiologists and critical care

The hardest universities for anesthesiologists and critical care to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Some great schools for anesthesiologists and critical care are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for anesthesiologists and critical care based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

4. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

5. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

6. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

8. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

10. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for anesthesiologists and critical care

The easiest schools for anesthesiologists and critical care to get into are Gwynedd Mercy University, barry university, and mount saint mary's university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an anesthesiologist and critical care without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for anesthesiologists and critical care.

1. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

2. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

3. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

4. Texas Woman's University

Denton, TX • Private

Admissions rate

87%

SAT average

1,059

5. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

6. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

7. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

8. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

9. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

10. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

Average anesthesiologist and critical care salary by education level

Anesthesiologist and critical care education levelAnesthesiologist and critical care salary
Doctorate Degree$196,623

Anesthesiologist and critical care education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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